The present invention relates broadly to a stowable armrest and more specifically to a vehicle seat having an armrest that can be folded away to a retracted storage position.
All types of vehicles for many years have utilized stowable arm supports such as farm tractors, digging machinery, automobiles, trucks, and aircraft. Having vehicles with flexibility with regard to the interior space is currently a favored characteristic of vehicles such as mini vans and SUVs. The trend toward smaller vehicles with wider seats compounds the lateral space problem within vehicles with the areas occupied by armrests being critical.
Typical armrests in vehicles rotate about a lateral horizontal axis whereby the armrest folds upward into the plane of the backrest as typified in the patents to Tame U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,191 and Swenson U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,606.
In other configurations the armrest rotates about the same lateral horizontal axis with a second axis of rotation about a longitudinal horizontal axis whereby the armrest can be folded behind the seat back as taught in Krein U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,958.
In the patent to Geer U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,092 an automotive armrest is rotatable about two separate axes, one being a longitudinal axis while the other axis is in the retracted position, whereby the armrest ends up behind the seat back.
In the patent to Tame U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,191 the armrest is rotated upward about the conventional lateral axis, then the armrest portion itself is rotated about a longitudinal axis whereby the armrest is turned on its side so a to have lesser depth in lateral spacing.